'On the road again.......'

 6:44 am - Monday - March 1st - Yuma, AZ - 43° F, 25% humidity, wind - 5 mph out of the north by northeast.....clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2017 we hiked up to the stone snake sculpture near Borrego Springs, CA with Becky Schade, a nomadic friend we first met while working at Amazon in Fernley, NV in 2014....

.....our view this morning......↴

As the sun rose in the east Sunday morning it became obvious it would be a day of crystal, clear, blue, wind swept skies.  All of the online weather forecast showed winds in the 20+ mph range along our route to Yuma, AZ out of the north by northwest.  We, as you know, prefer not to drive when it is windy, but sometimes you have no choice, but to proceed with a stiff upper lip, and hope for the best.  This is the third time on this one month trip we have done something we prefer not to do (drive at night, drive in the rain/snow).  We have dental appointments Monday morning in Los Algodones, Baja California, and we did not want to make the 176 mile drive early Monday morning.

After saying our 'until next times' to Tom, Darlene and Bob (Sandy was still asleep) we rolled out through the entrance gate around 9 am.  While there was a breeze, it was not too bad early on, but as we merged onto I-10 we began to feel the push from the passenger side.  Fortunately, we only had to cover about 10 miles of I-10 before turning south once again for another 30 miles to I-8, where we were once again headed west, and there we began to be buffeted about by the wind.  Much to my surprise, this only lasted about 30 minutes, and the winds seemed to abate somewhat, and were not an issue the balance of our drive into the eastern outskirts of Yuma.

We made one rest stop at the Sentinel Rest Area near Sentinel, AZ with about 70 miles to go.  The drive was completely uneventful, which is for what we always hope.  We arrived a little after 12 pm Arizona time, and were in site #408 at Foothills Village RV Park a few minutes later.  This is an older Encore/Thousand Trails park, but it neatly kept.  They provide contactless check-in online, but we were escorted to our site via golf cart by one of the park hosts, Peggy.

So, why did we choose an RV park 21 miles short of Los Algodones?  We normally park overnight in the Quechan Casino RV parking area, but due to the Wuhan Flu they are not allowing overnight parking at this time.  We, normally, do not make reservations, another thing we do not like to do, but because of the Wuhan Flu pretty much every RV park requires reservations.  Another reason was our former managers at Ramona Oaks RV Resort, Rich and Marnie, are staying just a block away, and we wanted to see them.

Around 3 pm we walked about 1/2 block through the park to a gate which led to a local cafe where we met Rich and Marnie for a late lunch. We talked non-stop for almost 2 hours before saying our 'until next times'.  By the time we exited the restaurant just before 5 pm the winds had begun to die down.  It was such a blessing to spend time again with Rich and Marnie, and I look forward to the next time our nomadic paths cross!

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The final 'TO DO'.......

 7:20 am - Sunday - February 28th - Wittmann, AZ - 44° F, 24% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the northwest......crystal, clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 62° F.  On this date in 2013 we were in St. Augustine, FL......↴

I began Real Saturday with a 'TO DO' list of 6 items, and ended the day with zero.....one of my better days.  The list consisted of, but was not limited to:

1) Polish a years' worth of oxidation off my ALCOA wheels

2) Lube the Winegard satellite dish

3) Remove the last of the blue masking tape

4) Apply caulk to the top of TLE's bedroom window

5) Dump the black tank

6) Put our eBikes back on the bike rack in preparation for our departure Sunday

Number 1 took the most time, as one might imagine, but I got them looking better than ever after about 2.5 hours of labor the ALCOA's and I were both smiling......

.....the salt laden air of the Oregon Coast is not kind to my ALCOA's, and I will have to find a better way of protecting them when we return to Seal Rock, OR two weeks from now.

By the end of the day I was tuckered, and in need of some jacuzzi therapy, so around 3 pm I hopped into the jacuzzi to soak away the soreness from my muscles and joints....sitting on the ground polishing aluminum is not a suitable activity for someone 71 years of age, but someone has got to do it, and I'm that guy.

Around 4:30 pm we convened inside Tom and Darlene's home for our final communal dinner.  I have neglected, so far, to provide an 'usie' of our gang of 6 for your viewing pleasure....

Left to right: Bob, TLE, Darlene, Tom, Sandy and moi

....Sunday will be another day of bittersweet 'until next times', but we shall trundle on knowing we will return to Wittmann again for another sojourn.  Of all the places to which we have returned often in our 9 years of travels, Tom and Darlene's home is the place to which we have returned most often. I always tell TLE as we drive through the property gate "we're home", and that is how it feels each time we return.

For dinner we had 'Taco Salad', prepared by the loving hands of Darlene with the assistance of TLE.  Each dinner here has been filled with wonderful food, and scintillating conversation, and a lot of laughter.  Thank you Tom and Darlene for the welcoming, hospitable, loving environment you provide for all of your guests.  You are loved and appreciated more than you can know.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

Two Michelin 'stars'......

 7:23 am - Real Saturday - February 27th - Wittmann, AZ - 40° F, 46% humidity, wind - zero mph out of the north....mostly clear skies today with a forecast high of 70° F.  The view this morning.......↴

.....and on this date in 2020 we were hiking up to the stone snake near Borrego Springs, CA with Rich and Marnie......↴

....how ironic it is that we will see them again, tomorrow!

We were up by 7 am Friday in anticipation of our 47 mile drive into Phoenix, and specifically Purcell Tire on McDowell.  I unplugged the Newell just after 9 am, and we were on our way.  The traffic was incredibly light, and we arrived at the tire store just after 10 am.  Within minutes, Chris, the manager, had us pull into one of the truck bays, and within another few minutes his workers were removing our two front ALCOA wheels in order to remove the 7 year old Firestones, and replace them with brand new Michelins.  Soon they were inflating the tires to 105 PSI.......

.....then putting them on the spin balance machine.......

.....by 11:30 the ALCOA wheels with the new Michelin tires attached had been reinstalled.  There was no bill to pay at that time.....National Tire Concierge will be billed by Purcell, who will in turn bill me.  We were on our way back home to Wittmann by 12 pm....

.....I spent the rest of the day mostly relaxing....Saturday will be a busy last day here in Wittmann, and I need to be rested.....lol.  I did take time to fill our fresh water tank, and take a jacuzzi, but otherwise I took a couple of naps, and watched TV.  On Real Saturday I will finish my last task here in Wittmann.....polish those beautiful ALCOA wheels, and make them shine again!

One of my readers reminded me via comment, that I neglected to give a review of my new Flexsteel captains seat/chair.....frankly, it was so comfortable that I forgot all about it....seriously!  Well, I love it, and am looking forward to many long hours sitting in it on our way home to Oregon!  It has wonderful lumbar support, and sits at just the perfect height....I am in love.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!